Innovation is connection: we are all part of an innovation chain

I’m sitting in Schiphol Airport ruminating on the many positive aspects of being a part of Canada’s team attending the Classical:Next 2015 conference in Rotterdam (thank you to Orchestras Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts for the invitation and support).

The overwhelming feeling about being at such a conference is one of inspiration. In focussing on forward-thinking, the future of orchestras, innovation, creativity, the power in taking risks and the guarantee of relevancy that exists from trying new things (even as some have success and others fail) we were motivated, prodded, supported, and fired up to continue to strive for excellence and new direction.

David Pay, who led the showcase and focus on Canada was a hero in my mind. He portrayed Canada with strength and enormous talent with an opening night presentation that included Yannick-Nezet Sequin as a keynote speaker, an interview with Barbara Hannigan, a video that beautifully portrayed many talented orchestras and ensembles of Canada, and live performances from Canadian performers Tanya Tagaq, Continuum Contemporary Music, the Cecilia String Quartet and Megumi Masaki. Canadians led some of the conference sessions including a session on the Canadian Digital Content Initiative (led by David Pay and Tim Brady) and El Sistema: Threat, Fad or the Future of Music? (led by Jonathon Govias).

There is a vitality, a life force, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. / If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium, and will be lost. The world will not have it. – Martha Graham, choreographer

The sessions focussed on music streaming, digital content, alternative venues, branding, engagement of new audiences, relevance for orchestras and the arts of the future (The Arts in 2050 was a particularly interesting session). My personal favourite was the final session of the conference, “The Innovation Chain” which was hosted by an incredible group of leaders from the UK and the Netherlands. There were many inspiring aspects coming from this session. Here are some of the quotes that impacted me the most:

Only do what only you can do / lead with your values and your vision – Ruth Mackenzie (Artistic director, Holland Festival)

To create a piece of art that will survive history should be all of our goal – Gavin Reid, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Whatever you create that is genuine, there is an audience for it. Our goal is to find the audience. – Gavin Reid, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Innovation is being open. My drive in life is to “not know” to be open. – Henk Heuvelmans

As I reflect on the conference, I realize too that innovation is connection. Listening to other’s ideas is to be constantly redirected in our own thoughts. Often our own ideas are almost ready to come out, and someone else’s experiences or visions propel us exactly to where we need to go. The most distinct aspect of the final session that hit home for me is that we are all a part of an innovation chain.

Talk, listen, create with the orchestra. As management lets go of power, you and your orchestra are going to do what you can do together– discussion between Neil Wallace, Programme Director, De Doelen Concert Hall and Henk Heuvelmans, Director of Gaudeamus Muziekweek, Utrecht

In having the opportunity to attend the conference, I connected to innovative and creative leaders in a special way. Often we have talent so close around us, but we are so focussed on our own organizations and endeavours that we don’t take the time to truly connect. It was great to be inspired from international leaders, but even more incredible was to realize how talented Canada is, and what an amazing group of innovators and creators we are nurturing and producing. We should all continue to be inspired to take risks, to be relentless in finding ways to reach new audiences, and to ensure the future of classical music in Canada.

If at first an idea is not absurd, then there’s no hope for it – Albert Einstein

There are a lot of amazing creative people in the world, and it was a privilege to be influenced by these forces for the future of art. Thanks again to Orchestra Canada for the privilege of being a part of their Canadian Team and to the Canada Council for the support in attending the conference. I wish everyone the power of success that comes from having the courage of innovative vision and commitment to the future of music.

Be an “ensemble of possibilities” – Pierre Boulez

Tania Miller, Music Director
Victoria Symphony

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.

Orchestras Canada’s Next Generation Leaders program, now in its second year, is a competitive national bursary program designed to help talented future leaders with a keen interest in Canadian orchestras, and under the age of 35, to attend the National Meetings, and engage in in-depth conversations with senior leaders in the field. This year’s NGL participants include:

Culture Track 2014 is the culmination of a decade of national research (fielded 6 times since 2001) that focused exclusively on attitudes, motivators, and barriers of culturally active audiences. LaPlaca Cohen built on existing research studies and dug deeper into what’s really driving or discouraging cultural participation. The findings include a new – broader – definition of culture, how people plan for and engage with organizations and with culture, and how people perceive an organization as worthy of participation or donation, among others.

For twenty years, we have helped many of the world’s leading cultural and creative organizations tell their stories, building more powerful connections that amplify their impact on their communities and the world.

We are the only strategy, design, and full-service advertising firm in the US that exclusively serves the creative and cultural sector. The result is that we have become strategic partners for our clients, addressing needs that no other single resource can.

Our passion fuels our expertise. We thrive on the dynamism of the ever-changing cultural landscape and the opportunities it creates to engage, enlighten, and inspire.

Attesting to our dedication to service and our ability to deliver and sustain results, we have been privileged to work with an unrivaled roster of leading museums, performing arts organizations, architecture firms, orchestras, dance companies, corporate sponsors, foundations, and collectors.

Long & McQuade is the largest chain of musical instrument retailers in Canada, with 63 locations from British Columbia to Newfoundland. This means that if you’re a touring musician, you’ll have the benefit of dealing with a familiar store with consistent sales, supplies and service, no matter where your homebase is.

For the last 20 years, I produced concerts with professional orchestras across Canada. Known for strategic integration of innovative ideas and new technology, I helped create partnerships, develop audiences, and bring in new revenue. I love to connect with others who create intriguing projects and get things done. My favorite work identifies community need, creates lasting results, and engages new, young and remote audiences.

Ticketpro Canada Inc. is a leading provider of box office software and online ticket sales and services for entertainment events. We specialize in feature-rich solutions for venues, festivals, event organizations, producers and promoters.

Dean Artists Management specializes in the management of classically trained singers, conductors of singers, and opera stage directors/choreographers. Founded by owner Bruce Dean as the classical music division of The Talent House (www.talenthouse.ca), Canada’s most successful classical agency has branches in Toronto and New York. After twenty years in international arts management, we remain attuned to the trends of the opera and classical music markets, and to the visions of our colleagues and clients.

Working as a team to strategically broaden the careers of established artists, Dean Artists Management is equally known for its ability to nurture and guide emerging careers. Our artists include specialists in both early and contemporary music, carefully chosen cross-over artists, and those directors and conductors who have a particular knowledge of, and affinity for, opera, choral and vocal orchestral repertoire.

Paul Born, author, Ashoka Fellow, and President of Tamarack Institute will give a talk and lead a short workshop inspired by his recent book, “Deepening Community: Finding Joy Together in Chaotic Times”. In chaotic times like these we naturally reach out to each other for security, sense making and belonging. Many years of not really needing each other and over-relying on professional intervention to meet our individual and community needs have left us with diminished skills and resources for community. How can we build community in our lives, our organizations, and in the places we live? Paul’s powerful and often humorous stories provide concrete examples that inspire individuals to reach out to others and work together.

Making its Toronto premiere and marking the 40th anniversary of choreographer Pina Bausch’s legendary Tanztheater Wuppertal, Kontakthof is the crowning achievement of her too-brief career. First staged in 1978, it has earned global praise as a masterful examination of the eternal battle of the sexes; wherein whatever harmony is achieved is ultimately scuttled because male and female forces are inevitably opposed. The setting is a drab dance hall, as separated groups of women and men slowly interact. The need, and quest, for not just intimacy but love ignites a spectrum of actions and reactions, sometimes angrily, often comically, always brilliantly.

Our three facilitators will lead attendees through a Critical Response process, using the Tanztheater Wuppertal performance as the departure point. (A ticket to the performance is included in all meeting registrations.) Deceptively simple, the power of the process is extraordinary: it encourages reflection, connection, and inclusion in group discussions about any complex shared experience. In addition, the facilitator does not need to be an expert on the subject and only requires minimal education on the process itself.

As one of the preeminent insurance brokerage and consulting operations in Canada, Cowan specializes in providing the best value to businesses, organizations and individuals for their insurance and risk management needs. Cowan Insurance Group represents the leading national and international insurance companies in order to provide the best balance of coverage, risk management services and specialized expertise available to each and every client.

What can we do today to initiate positive change for ourselves, our orchestras, our community?

Facilitator-in-chief: Jane Marsland

Orchestras Canada’s new strategic plan is predicated on collaboration – the belief that better collaboration between orchestras will further the cause of orchestral music in Canada, enhance the resiliency of the sector, and make every orchestra stronger. We think OC has a key role to play in facilitating this collaboration – but we need your input!

This conference-closing session will begin with an open forum to confirm topics that you think are the most amenable to a collaborative approach, whether led by members or led by OC (Research and analysis? Collaborative artistic/education projects? Advocacy? Digital strategy? You tell us!)

Move into facilitated breakout sessions for in-depth discussions and rapid prototyping of the ideas your group finds most compelling, and conclude with a report-back to the plenary.

Maggie’s diverse experience in the fields of art, architecture, and design gives her a distinct edge for driving content direction, ideation, and strategic ideas for the cultural world. She has helped to direct messaging, marketing, and communications strategies for renowned national and international projects in the private and public sector that range from urban planning, museums, and performing arts, to education, hospitality, and interactive technology.

Maggie has been involved in the art and architecture world in a variety of ways, including journalism, teaching, curating, and advocating. Before joining LaPlaca Cohen, she was a Senior Manager of Content Strategy, Communications and New Media at the architecture and design firm, Rockwell Group.

Maggie received a MA in Art and Architectural History from The Institute of Fine Arts at NYU, and a BA in English Literature and Fine Arts from Amherst College.

With a background in both the performing arts and the global contemporary art world, Hil brings a diverse range of insights into the cultural landscape and the unique opportunities that organizations possess as they move into the future. Hil received a BA in Art History and a certificate in African Studies from Princeton University, where her undergraduate thesis focused on new models of collaborative art practice spearheaded by burgeoning artists in Kampala, Uganda—where she also assisted in planning for the development of the first multi-disciplinary arts center in the country. Prior to joining LaPlaca Cohen, she interned in the Deputy Director’s Office of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation & Museum.

Hil sits on the Board of Trustees of the Princeton Triangle Club, the oldest touring collegiate musical-comedy troupe in the United States, in which she previously performed as an actress and served as the organization’s President

Robert Fraser (goes by “Bob” to all his friends) has been the bass trombonist in the Victoria Symphony since 1990. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Brandon University, a Licentiate in Trombone Performance from McGill University, and Master of Arts in Musicology/Performance from the University of Victoria.

During the 2005-06 season, Bob was acting bass trombonist of the Calgary Philharmonic, and held a similar position in the Winnipeg Symphony in the fall of 2009; in both instances replacing a musician on sabbatical leave. In addition to his work with the Victoria Symphony, he performs regularly as a trombonist in groups as diverse as the Palm Court Light Orchestra, the Festive Brass (at The Butchart Gardens), and Victoria’s own Renaissance wind band, “A Great Noyse” where he plays an array of wind instruments, including recorder, crumhorn and the ancestor of the trombone, the sackbut.

Besides the trombone, Bob is a chorister, singing with the St. Christopher’s Singers of Christ Church Cathedral, the chamber choir Vox Humana, and the eight-voice ensemble Raincoast Voices. He enjoys lecturing and teaching as well, giving pre-concert talks for the Victoria Symphony and occasional lectures on orchestral music and music history for various groups.

Bob has also worked as a long-time advocate for musicians, as Secretary-Treasurer of the Musicians’ Association of Victoria and the Islands (Local 247, CFM) from 1991-2002, and as Secretary of the Organization of Canadian Symphony Musicians (OCSM) from 2003-2013. In August 2013 he was elected President of OCSM.

Bob occasionally performs music with his wife, Ann, a violinist who specializes in early music. And when he’s not chasing his Abyssinian cat, Jack, around the house, he feeds his addiction to cryptic crosswords and Facebook.

Elaine Calder is one of North America’s most experienced performing arts administrators. Between 1994 and 2012 Ms. Calder held executive leadership positions with the Canadian Opera Company, the National Arts Centre, Hartford Stage, the Edmonton Symphony and the Oregon Symphony, before returning to the Shaw Festival as its Executive Director in September 2012 – a position she held previously, from 1990 to 1994. She has led significant financial recoveries at most of these organizations, primarily by increasing attendance and earned and contributed income, rather than by cutting expenditures. She took the Edmonton Symphony to Ottawa for the NAC’s 2005 Alberta Scene Festival with a program of music by five contemporary Alberta composers, and produced its first recording of the music of John Estacio. Similarly, she took the Oregon Symphony to Carnegie Hall for its triumphant performance at the 2011 Spring For Music Festival, and produced its Grammy-nominated recording of that program, entitled Music for a Time of War. Despite her return to theatre she continues to love the symphonic repertoire and orchestral musicians and so far this year has attended concerts by the orchestras of Toronto, Hamilton, Buffalo, Rochester, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Seattle and Portland, Oregon.

Denny Young has held senior fundraising and communications positions in a number of sectors including health, social service, and the arts. He currently serves as a member of the senior management team of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in the role of Vice-President, Development. In this position he has the privilege of working with a dedicated team of 14 staff and many passionate volunteers – all tirelessly engaged in developing support for the orchestra’s annual operations and building the TSO’s endowment.

A regular speaker and lecturer on nonprofit management, Denny is also a part-time faculty member at Ryerson University in the Nonprofit Management Program and at Humber College in the Fundraising Management program.

Renaud Legoux is Associate Professor of Marketing at HEC Montréal. He received his PhD in Management with a concentration in Marketing from McGill University. He is the director of the Master in Management of Cultural Enterprises. Before his academic career, he worked as a manager for a professional theater company. His current research interests include arts marketing, consumer satisfaction, and sponsorship.

Jennifer Bryan has dedicated over 10 years of her life to arts marketing. After graduating with an arts degree in music, she quickly realized that the glamorous life of a jazz guitarist was not for her. After being taught by the best in the biz at Humber College, Jennifer learned the marketing ropes at Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir. She has since spent 7 years at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and is currently Director of Sales, where she focuses on (and delights in) growing audiences and ticket revenue in this wonderfully challenging cultural landscape.

Paul Born is the President and cofounder of the Tamarack Institute which since 2001 has provided leadership in Canada on issues of citizen engagement, collaborative leadership and community innovation. Prior to Tamarack, Paul Born was the Executive Director and co-founder of the Community Opportunities Development Association one of Canada’s leading community economic development organizations that were recognized by the United Nations as one of the top 40 projects in the world. He was elected into the world’s largest network of social innovators, as a Senior Ashoka Fellow in 2013.

Judy has over 30 years of experience working in the performing arts. Her previous accomplishments include directing and executing touring activity for some of Canada’s most highly respected dance and opera companies, developing and executing strategic marketing campaigns and working in collaboration with an extensive range of arts organizations and arts professionals across Canada, the United States, and throughout the world. Amongst the many projects she is currently working on, she is Program Manager for Ontario Presents where she is responsible for the Ontario Dances and Theatre Connects program, the Audience Demographic Mapping program and CCI’s block booking program. She also has extensive experience dealing with all levels of government funding agencies having worked on contract for the Canada Council and the Department of Canadian Heritage assisting in the launch of the Arts Presentation Canada Program in Ontario. Judy is the 2007 recipient of the National Arts Centre award for distinguished contribution to touring and the 2011 Sandra Tulloch Award for Innovation in Arts and Culture in Ontario.

Sam Varteniuk is General Manager of The Registry Theatre, and Artistic Director of JM Drama Alumni. He has spent 15 years writing, directing, producing, and starring in stage plays, short films, and sketch comedy. Sam has worked extensively in the world of Drama Therapy/Theatre for Social Change, collaborating with mental health organizations, seniors’ communities, and newcomers to Canada to tell their stories; he recently embarked on another such collaboration with KW’s Extend-A-Family.

Daniel Swift, a conductor and a musicologist, was artistic director of two Canadian orchestras, and guest conducted ensembles and orchestras in Canada, Europe and the United States. He currently holds the position of Program Officer at the Canada Council for the Arts. At Orchestras Canada’s 2014 National Meeting, on Friday June 13, he will lead an ideas exchange session on support to Canadian composers and conductors as it relates to the orchestra milieu.

Conductor and musicologist Daniel Swift studied oboe and composition at the Conservatory in Trois-Rivières, music history and musicology at Laval University in Québec, and conducting with Pierre Dervaux and Jean-Pierre Jacquillat in Paris. He has been music director of l’Ensemble instrumental de Trois-Rivières, the Laval University orchestra and of the Ensemble instrumental des Jeunesses musicales du Canada (Montréal). Winner of the Heinz Unger Conducting Award in 1983, he was assistant conductor for Boris Brott with the Hamilton Philharmonic and Uri Mayer with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra before becoming conductor and Music Director of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (1984-1992) and of the Niagara Symphony (1999-2008).

A frequent guest of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Radio-Canada, Mr. Swift has regularly conducted concerts both for regional and national broadcast. He has also guest conducted numerous orchestras in Canada, the United States and Europe.

Particularly interested in the French repertoire, Daniel Swift directed in Paris and New York (1989), a revival of Francis Poulenc’s musical play Le Gendarme incompris, which he rediscovered during musicological research in France. He participated in the preparation of an edition of this work for music publisher Salabert. As well, he has recorded three ballets of French composer Henri Sauguet with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra on the SM5000 label. This CD entitled Parisian Ballets was unanimously recommended by music magazines in Japan, France and the United States.

Daniel Swift has also worked as Music Officer for the Canada Council for the Arts (1992-1999) where, through the years, he managed Sound Recording, New Music, Commissioning, Residencies, Professional Orchestras and Opera/Music Theatre programs.

Jeff Alexander was named to the position of President & CEO of the Vancouver Symphony Society in September 2000. As such, he serves as the chief administrator for the organization, responsible for overseeing board, government and community relations, long-range planning, and day-to-day management for Western Canada’s largest performing arts organization and Canada’s third largest symphony orchestra with an annual budget of over $14 million.

Since his appointment, Alexander has worked closely with VSO Music Director Bramwell Tovey, the organization’s Board of Directors, musicians, staff and volunteers to strengthen every aspect of the organization’s artistic, fiscal, community, governance and administrative activities. With the implementation of a new strategic plan in 2002, subsequent updates, and a wide variety of new programs, the organization has experienced significant growth in subscription and single ticket sales, as well as individual, corporate and government support, resulting in a surplus on annual operations for nine of the last ten years.

Alexander has also supported a number of innovations at the VSO, including the reformatting, expansion and creation of concert series; significant growth in the organization’s educational and community programs and community partnerships; the use of video screens in the concert hall; the Society’s first endowment campaign ($10.2M raised to date); the purchase and implementation of Tessitura (the first orchestra in Canada to own and operate this integrated ticketing/fundraising software package developed by the Metropolitan Opera); the planning and implementation of an Asia-Pacific tour with concerts in Korea, Macau and China in October 2008 (the first international tour for the orchestra in 17 years); a May 2009 tour to Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City (the orchestra’s first performances in these cities in 33 years); a January 2013 tour to the U.S. West Coast (the orchestra’s first U.S. tour in 35 years) and the creation of the state-of-the-art 25,000 square foot VSO School of Music directly next to the orchestra’s home, the Orpheum Theatre, now home to over 950 students and 60 faculty members. The result has been a renewed spirit of support and admiration for the orchestra locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

Prior to joining the VSO, Alexander spent sixteen years at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, including twelve as General Manager. As such, he was the “second in command” for the sixth oldest and eighth largest orchestra in the United States, with an annual budget of $28 million. In this position, he managed an orchestra of 99 full time musicians, and was responsible for all elements of program planning, concert production, and orchestra relations. He participated in four master agreement negotiations; planned and managed 12 domestic tours, each with concerts in Carnegie Hall, and four international tours, with concerts throughout Europe and Asia.

Alexander was responsible for the production of over sixty recordings and seven national television programs for both the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. He served on the Steering Committee which planned activities for the Orchestra’s 100th Anniversary Season in 1995; a 1998 Long Range Planning Task Force; and in 1999 the Music Director Search Committee.
Concurrent with the above, Alexander managed the Cincinnati May Festival, an annual choral festival founded in 1873 for which the CSO is the official orchestra.

Prior to being named General Manager, he served the CSO as Director of Regional and Educational Programs, overseeing all educational activities, and a series of orchestral and chamber music concerts in sixteen communities throughout Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

From 1982 to 1984, Alexander served as General Manager of the Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra in Texas and from 1980 to 1982 as General Manager of Grapa Concerts in New York City, an artist management firm specializing in organizing Latin American tours for North American and European soloists and ensembles.

Jeff Alexander is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he majored in French Horn Performance. He has been a member of the League of American Orchestras since 1984 and Orchestras Canada since 2000. He was elected to the Board of Directors of Orchestras Canada in 2001 and during the subsequent ten years served on its Nominating, Executive Director Search and Bylaw Review Committees, was Vice-Chair of the Board from 2005 – 2007, Chair from 2007 – 2009 and in 2010 chaired its Leadership & Professional Development Task Force. He has served on adjudication panels for the Canada Council for the Arts, British Columbia Arts Council, YWCA of Greater Vancouver and the Alcan Awards, as well as a member of the City of Vancouver’s 125thAnniversary Advisory Committee, and for six years the Vancouver Foundation’s Arts & Culture Advisory Committee.

An experienced manager with a passion for culture, Thérèse Boutin (President and CEO of l’Orchestre symphonique de Québec) has worked in the arts, education and communications field for most of her 35-year career. Beginning as a journalist with CBC/Radio-Canada, she quickly leaped into the management field, working in media, public administration, education and music, in Ontario and in Québec. Additionally, Ms. Boutin has been a senior partner in a communications and strategic planning consulting company for the past 20 years.

A graduate of Laurentian University, where she obtained a BA in Political Science, Thérèse Boutin also holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from York University, a Masters in Public Administration from Queen’s and an MB from l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.

A woman of action and dedication, she has been a member of various Boards from the Chamber of Commerce to the local Conservatory including schools, choirs community groups.

After leading a successful restructuring of the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières (2006-2013), she was named CEO of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec in May 2013.

She joined the Board of Orchestras Canada in November 2007, was its chair from 2011-2013 and is now past-chair. She has also been on the Board of the Conseil québécois de la musique.

Brian Emmett is an economics graduate of the University of Western Ontario and the University of Essex in England, and has enjoyed a long and distinguished public service career. He was Canada’s first Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in the late 1990s and worked extensively on Canada’s Green Plan. He also served as Vice-President of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in the early 2000s and has been an Assistant Deputy Minister in a number of federal government departments. As the Chief Economists at Imagine Canada, Brian Emmett measures the impact of the Charitable and Nonprofit Sector and brings economic issues facing charities and nonprofits to the forefront of public policy decision makers.

Paul Wells, political editor of Maclean’s magazine, has reinvigorated Canadian political writing for more than a decade. His career began in Montreal at The Gazette in 1989; in 1997 he became the Gazette’s national affairs columnist, and then moved to the National Post for its launch in 1998. In 2003, he joined Maclean’s, where he has won two gold National Magazine Awards for his writing on politics. A regular commentator for both English – and French – language television and radio, he is also the author of The Longer I’m Prime Minister: Stephen Harper and Canada, which won the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for political writing and the John W. Dafoe Prize for Canadian non-fiction.

Arts Consultant, Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts and ARTS Action Research

Jane Marsland has been an articulate advocate for the arts for many years and has served on a wide range of boards, advisory groups and committees. Jane was co-founder and director of ARTS 4 CHANGE, a three-year program designed to create positive change for and by arts professionals in Toronto, as well as co-founder and Director of Technical Assistance of the Creative Trust: Working Capital for the Arts.

Ms. Marsland has managed arts organizations since 1970 and was General Manager of the Danny Grossman Dance Company from 1982 to 1999. Since 1999, Jane has been working as a free-lance arts consultant and has worked with more than 100 arts organizations. Currently Jane is working with the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts and ARTS Action Research on a new community initiative, Theatres Leading Change Toronto involving 18 small and midsized theatre and dance organizations.

She has been the recipient of two arts community awards: a “Harold’ in 2001 and the Sandra Tulloch Award for Innovation in the Arts in 2002. In 1995, she received the first M. Joan Chalmers Award for Arts Administration for outstanding leadership in the arts. In 2011, she was the winner of the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Rita Davies and Margo Bindhardt Cultural Leadership Award.

In January 2012 Jane was awarded the first Metcalf Foundation Innovation Fellowship in the Arts to examine Shared Platforms and Charitable Venture Organizations and their applicability to the performing arts sector in Ontario.

Great pride is taken in marketing and selling Classical music
42 years in the business
Various Sales and Marketing positions throughout the years
1996 to 2003 – Director/VP of Universal Classics and Jazz – grew the department from 15m to 27m
1992 to 1996 – Sales Executive Polygram Classics and Jazz – sold 1 million dollar order to one account
Re-launched Verve records – went from less than 500k to 5m in one year
Worked for GRT Records, Phonodisc, MCA Records, Polygram, Universal and now Naxos of Canada

Some highlights

Cecilia Bartoli- Portraits – 30k – TV Campaign in Quebec
OSM – with Charles Dutoit – Helped sell over a million units of OSM recordings through the years
Classical 5 cd Box sets, – sold 5m a year for almost 7 years in a row – Mozart Experience, Beethoven 1 to 9, Operamania etc.
Discovered a huge crossover market with 3 Tenors, Pavarotti and Friends, Andrea Bocelli, Russell Watson, Diana Krall
Re-launched Verve records – went from less than 500k to 5m in one year